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Petition update

Ashland Beekeepers in Trouble

Bee Girl

Aug 20, 2013 — On August 6th, the Ashland City Council met for the first reading of the ordinance. Unfortunately, I was on a trip back East to assist with a Kids and Bees program, and was not able to answer questions and address issues that arose at the meeting. More unfortunate was the meeting was only attended by citizens against beekeeping, and none as advocates for beekeepers and bees.

The council did their best to stay positive about the ordinance, but also wanted to address the (unrealistic) concerns from the public. In response, a permitting process was added to the ordinance. This is where the problem is. The permit requires residents to pay a fee of $28 (the highest in the country, that I could find), draw and submit a scale map of your yard, the bees, etc., and send out letters to all of your neighbors inquiring if they have an allergy, and if so, to get a note from their doctor and submit it to the City of Ashland.